Adjustable clamp rack



P. M. SCHATZ Oct. 15, 1968 ADJUSTABLE CLAMP RACK Filed Sept. 2, 1966 F THU Fig. 7

INVENTOR.

PETER M. SCHATZ ZAVZQ Fig.6

Fig.5

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,405,809 ADJUSTABLE CLAMP RACK Peter M. Sehatz, 8440 Evergreen Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. 46240 Filed Sept. 2, 1966, Ser. No. 577,063 3 Claims. (Cl. 211--87) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An article support rack with clamps for clamping articles of varying sizes. Each clamp comprises a pair of independent clips which may be positioned in different grooves in the rack to adjust the clamping capability of the clamp.

This invention relates to an article support rack and in particular to a rack having a plurality of adjustable clamping means.

Numerous devices have been designed for holding articles such as hand tools, jars, carmisters and other items of varying shape and configuration. In general, such de' vices usually comprise a board or a rack to which metallic hangers are attached. The hangers are usually designed according to the specific type of article for which they are intended to support. Thus, one hanger may comprise a small loop for holding a screwdriver. Another hanger may be U-shaped for supporting a pair of pliers. Other hangers may be shaped for holding a jar, hammer, etc. In short, supports of the prior art have either required a variety of hanger shapes or are limited for a specific shaped article. In addition, racks of the prior art use hangers which can only support a hanging article; they rarely clamp the article. Therefore, placement of the rack is limited since any substantial movement of it will cause articles hanging on it to be knocked off. This eliminates one of the more desirable places to mount the rack, the back of a door which is so often waste space.

Attempts have been made to provide spring supports which clamp articles rather than merely support them by a hanging principle. Clamps are also preferable to hangers since insertion of the article to be supported is relatively easier than inserting it into an especially designed hole. However, again these clamping supports have had very limited use since they can only adapt to articles having diameters within a restricted range. This necessitates purchasing a large assortment of clamps of different diameters in order to be certain of handling different sizes and shapes of articles.

My invention overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages without sacrificing any of their advantages by employing a rack having a plurality of parallel grooves which cooperate with a pair of independent strips which comprise man adjustable clamp. In general, the rack of my invention is a strip of material such as wood or plastic which is hung horizontally. A number of parallel and vertical grooves are formed in the rack for receiving flexible strips formed from a resilient material such as stainless steel. A pair of strips are adjustably anchored in a pair of grooves at a proper distance apart to securely clamp an article. The same pair of strips may be repositioned in other grooves for clamping an article of a different diameter or thickness, thereby eliminating the need for purchasing a large variety of clamps. Although the strips of my invention are intended primarily for clamping articles it is apparent that they may also be used to hang articles.

It is therefore one object of this invention to provide a new and improved article support rack.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved support rack utilizing clamping means.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved support rack having clamping means which are adjustable for supporting articles of varying size and shape.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent upon reading the following description in connection with the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an article support rack of this invention with a pair of clamping strips;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an article support rack and a clamping strip with the rack shown in cross-section taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of my article support rack containing two types of clamping strips;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of my second embodiment with the article support rack shown in cross-section along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front View of the article support rack of FIGS. 1 and 2 with a pair of clamping strips gripping a sledge hammer;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the article support rack of FIGS. 3 and 4 with two pairs of clamping strips gripping a pair of small bottles; and

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a pair of modified clamping strips positioned in a support rack of the type shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the adjustable clamping device of my invention comprises a support rack 12 and clamping strips 13. Rack 12 may be formed from wood, metal, plastic or any other material capable of enduring the shocks that will result from the placement of heavy articles'on clamping strips 13. Rack 12, in accordance with my first embodiment as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a longitudinal groove 14 which is parallel to the front face 16 of the rack. A plurality of parallel and vertical grooves 18 are formed in face 16 and are in communica tion with the longitudinal groove 14. The length of grooves 18 are preferably equal to the width of strips 13. Vertical grooves 18, although shown in a uniformly spaced relationship may be staggered at varying distances. However, as will be apparent from the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an adequate variety of positions may also be provided by positioning grooves 18 relatively close to each other. Rack 12 may be fastened to a. wall, door or any other substantially fiat surface by conventional screws, bolts or glue. Although the rack is normally mounted horizontally it may also be mounted vertically.

Clamping strips 13 ideally are formed from stainless steel having a high degree of flexibility and a thickness slightly less than the width of grooves 14 and 18. However, spring steel, aluminum, polystyrene and any other material that may be formed into relatively thin strips providing flexibility are also suitable. The greater the resiliency of the material, the more ideal it will be for a clamping strip.

Each clamping strip has an extension portion 20 which cooperates with a like extension of another clamping strip to hold an article therebetween. The configuration of this extension 20 need notnecessarily be straight, a shape that is particularly good for large cannisters. The strips of FIGS. 3 and 4 have been formed with converging sections that make them more suitable for smaller articles. However, it is to be understood that any of the illustrated strips is capable of clamping articles of widely varying shapes. Free ends 21 of strips 13 have a dog-leg shape in order to more readily receive articles as they I g 3 are pushed between a pair of the strips. These angled or restricted ends 21 may comprise a first section 23 that is converging toward an adjacent strip and a second section 24 that diverges from an adjacent strip.

At the other end of each strip 13 a tongue 26 is provided which is bent at substantially right-angle to the extension portion of the strip. The tongue is relatively short and need extendonly a distance sufiicient to maintain the strip in positive seatment in grooves 14 and 18 with a minimum of looseness.

A pair of strips 13 are positioned in rack 12 to form a clamp in the following manner. A first strip 13 is inserted into a vertical groove 18 with its tongue secured in longitudinal groove 14. The strip rests on the bottom of end 29 of groove 18 which serves as an abutment. Thus, tongue 26 is held in flush contact with inner surface 28 adjacent groove 18. A second strip 13 is inserted in a similar manner but with its tongue 26 pointed in a direction opposite that of the first strips tongue. Consequently the two opposed tongues serve as a wide base for the pair of strips and permit the tWo strips to flex outwardly from each other upon insertion of an article. The angled sections 23 and 24 of the two strips are also positioned in their proper diverging and converging relationships.

It is apparent that one of the primary requisites of the strips is that they be able to withstand the various forces applied to them upon the insertion of an article. Thus, the tongues of the strips should be maintained in fiush contact with surface 28 to prevent unwanted displacement of the strips. In FIGS. 1 and 2 this is accomplished by the groove 14 which is only slightly wider than the thickness of the strips. However, since the rack 12 will often be fastened against a flat surface such as a door or wall the groove may be omitted as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Rack 12a of FIGS. 3 and 4 has no longitudinal grOOve 14 but instead has a longitudinal recessed surface 14a on its back surface 32 which may be mounted against a door or wall. Surface 14a is spaced from the supporting door or wall a distance slightly exceeding the thickness of strip 13 and serves the same function as groove 14. The door or other surface to which rack 12a is fastened cooperates with surface 14a to maintain tongue 26 of strip 13 flush against surface 14a of the rack. However, if the door or other surface Supporting rack 12a is particularly vulnerable to scratches one may prefer to use rack 12 with its groove 14.

Another modification of rack 12a appearing in FIGS. 3 and 4 relates to the distancing of vertical grooves 18a. Although grooves 18 of rack 12 in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be spaced as close as /2" there are occasions when one may wish to have closed grooves in order to obtain a broader range of clamp sizes. This is particularly so if one wishes to clamp thin articles such as screwdrivers, etc. However, if the grooves 18 of rack 12 are spaced much closer to each other it is conceivable that the increased loss of material in rack 12 would be such that the rack would break, depending on the type of material used. Therefore, grooves 18a of rack 12a are interrupted and do not extend an equal length throughout their depth. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 each groove 18a is stepshaped with a lower portion 34 isolated from the horizontal or longitudinal shoulder or portion 14a by a section of material forming a part of the rack. In this manner grooves 18a may be spaced closer to each other, to at least 4" apart without significantly weakening rack 12a since a portion of material in the rack represented by section 35 is not removed.

When the step-shaped grooves 18a are employed it is apparent strips 13a must also be step-shaped if they are to extend into the lower portion 34 of groove 18a. Thus, strip 13a differs primarily from strip 13 by the reduced height of tongue 26a and the portion of extension 20a which seats in groove 18a on abutment 29a. In this manner the height of the tongue and the segment of the strip 13a positioned within groove 14a equals the depth of the upper portion 37 of groove 18a. For simplicity in manufacturing the rack 12a, the portion 34 of groove 18a which is isolated from the longitudinal shoulder 14a may extend the full height of the rack.

Rack 12:: is not restricted to using only strips having stepped portions. Strips 13b are smaller and are particularly suitable for light weight articles'Consequently, they do not require so much material .and .need only extend to the depth of the upper portion 35-of grooves 18a. Thus, the design of the tongue 26b of strip 13b is identical to that of strip 13 in FIGS. land 2.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 racks 12 and 12a may be used to clamp articles ranging from heavyxsledge hammers 36 to small spice jars 37. The rack 12a of FIG. 6 can also be used to clamp heavy articles by; using strips 13a and spacing them farther apart. v v i 1 l As previously mentioned tongues 26 of s'trips 1 3 are kept flush to surface 28 of rack 12' by the useof groove 14. The tongues 26a and 26b of the clamping strips 13a and 13b in FIGS. 3 and 4 are held flush to surface 14a of rack 12a by the surface to which rack 12a is fastened. However, my invention is not limited to means whereby the tongues of the clamping strips are sandwiched between two surfaces.

Referring to FIG. 7, clamping strips 130 have tongues 26c which are held flush to surface 14a of rack 12a independent of any adjacent and parallel surface. This is accomplished by providing offset portion 38 in each strip 130 contiguous to the front face 16 of rack 12a. Since portion 38 is butted against the front face 16 and tongue 260 is flush with surface 140, the clamping strip 130 approximates a vise on the rack. As an article 40 isinserted between a pair of clamping strips 130 the vise effect on the rack is increased due to the spreading of the strips and the fact that the angle of divergence between offset portions 38 increases. Portions 38 may also be formed to converge toward each other but such a design provides a less effective vise action. I

The self-fastening feature of the above described clamp ing strips 130 increases the versatility of my clamping device. Rack 12a may be formed into a portable tool rack or a part, of a door or work bench. Clamps 13c.are particularly useful if rack 12a is to be placed onan unfinished wall across a pair of exposed studs. If the vise effect is sufiiciently strong there will be no absolute need to provide the abutment 29a of rack 12a. It is to be noted that strips 130 can also be used with rack 12 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The value of rack 12 again lies in the protection provided by its groove feature against the marring of a door or other surface to which rack 12 is fastened. The offset portion 38 of strips 13c may also be incorporated in strips 13a and 13b. I

Furthermore, it is not essential that the tongues of any of my strips be formed at a right angle to extensions 20. The tongues may be bent at either obtuse or acute angles with groove 14 in rack 12 accordingly increased in depth. Tongues 260 can also cooperate to provide a vise effect with angled portions 38 when bent at angles other than degrees. r

It is to be understood that although only a few embodiments of my invention have been illustrated and described other embodiments and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of my invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: p

1. An adjustable clamping device comprising a support rack having a plurality of grooves'in a front surface, a pair of resilient clamping stripsremovably extending from a pair of said grooves adapted for clamping an article therebetween, each of said grooves being substantially vertical and step-shaped, and each of said clamping'strips having a tongue in contact with a second surface of said support rack spaced from said front surface with the lowermost edge of each of said clamping strips adjacent its tongue being step-shaped for conformity with a respective vertical step-shaped groove.

2. An adjustable clamping device comprising a support rack having a plurality of grooves in a front surface, a pair of resilient clamping strips removably extending from a pair of said grooves adapted for clamping an article therebetween, each of said clamping strips having a tongue in contact with a second surface of said support rack spaced from said front surface and further having an offset portion butted against the front surface of said support rack.

3. An adjustable clamping device according to claim 2 in which said offset portion of each clamping strip diverges from an adjacent cooperating clamping strip.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Bartleman D542 Riessner 211-120 Schmidt 21l39 Hutt 211-60 Bartleman 211-60 Larson 211-60 X Wilcke 248--205 X ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner. 

